Harbin Ice Lantern Festival (Haerbin Bingdengjie) , China

Want to experience a snow festival in the Asian region? Come to China this winter as the Harbin Ice Lantern Festival is round the corner to celebrate the glory of ice and winter in a very festive and artistic way. Also known as Haerbin Bingdengjie, this festival is somewhat one of a kind in the continent as it is observed in the natural conditions.

The city of Harbin gets the credit for playing host to this annual event for its geographical location. This part of China is in the proximity of the Russian border and it shares the cold atmosphere almost all the year.

Harbin Ice Lantern Festival makes Harbin a hot spot (icy though!) for the locals as well as travellers to gather up and enjoy the chilling winters in a very colourful way. Here, massive ice blocks are carved into various fancy castles, buildings and sculptures. As the evening descends, these ice creations are lit up from inside and the show it displays is a delight for any eye and camera!

Be there and feel the chill on your own. You will find ice castles illuminated with colourful lights – the most common being the electric blue, bubblegum pink and some other queer shades. Try to step in a bit early to witness the process of making these structures from ice blocks.

Head towards the Zhaolin Park to see the best of the ice artists showcasing their imagination coming into reality on ice blocks in the Harbin International Ice Sculpture Competition. This competition gives the spectators a better idea of the amount of effort that is required to create an ice world. Go there and simply have a nice time around!